Souchez

Souchez is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) northwest of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the missing First World War Canadian soldiers with no known grave; the Memorial is also the site of two Canadian cemeteries.[2]

Souchez
Commune
The Souchez river
Coat of arms
Location of Souchez
Souchez Souchez
Coordinates: 50°23′29″N 2°44′37″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Lens
Canton	Bully-les-Mines
Intercommunality	CA Lens-Liévin
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Marie Alexandre
Area ^1	6.75 km^2 (2.61 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	2,496
• Density	370/km^2 (960/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62801 /62153
Elevation	62–157 m (203–515 ft) (avg. 97 m or 318 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Souchez lies 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Arras, at the junction of the D937, D57 and D58 roads. The small river Souchez, a tributary of the Deûle, flows through the town.

Population

Historical population of Souchez

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Population	1652	1800	1862	1872	2031	2176	2337
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest

• The Basilica de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, built in 1932, by the architect Louis Cordonnier. It overlooks Souchez, but is in fact located on the territory of the neighboring commune Ablain-Saint-Nazaire.
• The church of St.Nicolas, rebuilt, as was most of the village, after World War I.
• The French and Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries.
• The war memorials.
• The museum and the Centre Européen de la Paix, all about the First World War
• The nearby Canadian National Vimy Memorial

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
2. "Canadian National Vimy Memorial, France". The Great War UK. The Great War UK. 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2017. The ridge runs in a direction from Givenchy-en-Gohelle in the north-west to Farbus in the south-east.

External links

• Official commune website (in French)
• Zouave Valley CWGC cemetery
• Souchez Cabaret-Rouge CWGC cemetery
• Webpage about the monument dedicated to General Barbot (in French)